I have delved into the world of Amigurumi on a complete whim and in turn given myself yet another obsession!

I found Bubbles and Bongo on etsy after DD2 tagged me on Facebook with a picture of a darling ickle unicorn stating she needed one. After a bit of tinterweb research I found the source of this beautiful pattern. A Mum and Daughter duo who design simply gawjus patterns that are super simple to follow (more on that in a minute) at really reasonable prices.

Erinna the daughter half of the duo can be found on Instagram @littleaquagirl while Mummy, Rosemary @petite_tini

My desire to get going didn’t include a rational thought process WHATS NEW I hear you cry🤗. Wrong size hook, incorrect yarn and burning desire at hand I cracked on.

Now given how many years crafting experience I have you’d think at the very least I’d think colour themes through…..DONT BE DAFT, waaaaay to keen to make a start.

As Aurora’s head started to grow (and grow and grow) it occurred to me I may have been a bit hasty, but hey whoever believed in the act in haste, repent a leisure saying?

Aurora was getting humongous and to add insult to injury the colours (well it’s what I had available and I’m sticking to that defence) started to make her look more than a tad duck like. HH encouraged me to keep going, dang that man knows how to smooth my feathers.

I got the shivers everytime I glanced over at ‘the’ head. It’ll be alright once I’ve seen the mane on I told myself. She stopped looking quite so duck like and took on the form of Woodstock from Snoopy DABNABIT …… Dear Sewing /Amigurumi Gods pleeeeeease sprinkle some lucky dust over here.

Dont know what you think but I think they were listening. Now she’s fully constructed albeit in humongous proportions I love her and more importantly DD2 thinks she’s the sweetest thing ever PHEW 😂

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I’d like to say this blog post has a purpose, carefully thought through and highly directional but I would be lying!

Please forgive the random photo’s but as you read on it will become obvious that no topic appropriate pic’s exist and I LOVE LOVE blogs with pic’s so you got a random selection from my library 🙂

Here in good old Blighty the late Summer weather is pants to say the least, seems Dellis has all the good weather hurumph!!!! That said I have had the fan going in my bedroom all week due to the previously mentioned fever. Gaining mojo and health at rapid rate now I was strangely excited to go off to bed tonight ……… Woooo nelly, not so fast in the assumption department…. I took receipt today of my new memory foam topper (current one has remembered my old, fatter shape just a tad too well).

Stairs two at a time …. Sorry another fib, can you see me Mrs Hip Replacement doing two at a time 😉 ipad, phone and glasses in hand. Yes all essential in the sleep area, just in case 🙂

Whoop off I drift to sand man land despite the rather yak smell from the new topper, that very new smell. 3am DING! Wide awake and my back and neck killing me OMG another untruth, they are hurting quite a bit. So I lay there a while rationalizing the whole, its a new topper my body has to get used to it blurb. That’s when it happens ….. Creative mojo goes beeeezerk! Oooo I have that lovely yarn for DD1 blanket like the one I made DD2, Oooo more oriental fabric for another bag to gift to my friend. I am seeing in a few hours (yeah right like thats realistic silly billy), Oooo I need to look at that lovely pattern for a new work top, Oooo Christmas work do needs a posh frock need to look at patterns ……. And on it went.

Hence, here I am exorcising my ‘demons’ so I can please get a bit more sleep else I will look like an utter drack for my luncheon date AND what on earth is this on the TV ????? Oh. Cheaters….. That explains all the screaming and shouting LOL!!!

So my dear reader, what crazy things go through your head in the early hours of a sleepless night? Or am I only one that does this?

pictures remain the property of the original source and remain unedited from the original form gathered from image search in google

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The sewing has taken a back seat (bad girl) as the crochet bug has bitten BIG STYLIE!

I have a crochet, coffee and chats morning coming up with some lovely ladies who attended my Absolute Beginners sewing workshop last summer, so in the interest of being sure my proposed beginners crochet project is suitable I have trialled many yarns and as a result I have had several projects on the go at once! In fact we have here photographic evidence that I crochet anywhere …. DD2 had a hospital appointment and I expected a bit of a wait so I sat there crocheting. Some of the looks I got did make us chuckle as some of the faces had the look of ‘ oh gosh, it’s witchcraft’ 😉

Well I had better make the most of it as the time is rapidly approaching when I will have to rejoin the workforce and time will not be so readily available to me (Boooooooo!)

I have however after all this trialling settled on a fantastic acrylic yarn by James Brett called Marble Chunky and the great thing is it comes in a 200g ball so this will be sufficient for the task in hand, no yarn changes to break the spirit of my new learners 🙂

Additionally I have continued with my exposure therapy and have been out LOADS, even on my own. It really is beginning to work as I feel less and less unwell when I am out now. To the point that DD2 and I are gadding off to France on the Eurostar next week for a day trip. We did intend to go to Amsterdam on a budget airline but for some reason the flights are pretty costly at the moment so we’ve decided to drive to Folkestone and do the 35 minutes on the train under the English Channel. Trying not to think on that, a bit scary 😦

Part of my ‘getting my act together’ has been reverting to a good old-fashioned hand written diary that I am keeping copious notes and lists in. Although I don’t tend to get everything done, I do find I get a lot more done and my head doesn’t seem to have the never ending chatter that just increases my anxiety. All in all going quite well

1 ball of 200g down, 1 more to go

almost finished, just one more edge to shell stitch and done. I LOVE the colours in this James Brett

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…will be blogged in detail tomorrow but for now to prove I haven’t been totally lazy here are a few pictures of recent creations ….. One of which you can see is too big! She does have a biggish head but I think I got a bit carried away 😉 Keeping my hand in until I can make enough time to sew the top I have been threatening for several weeks now. Happy createmas! X

Many thanks to Totally Yarnsome for sharing the minion crochet pattern. Am delighted with result even if it is a tad big, if there is a next time will do the teen NOT adult size.

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Usual dramas ensue in my home which has kept me away from my blog for longer than I would have wanted BUT a few tales to tell of my continuing creative journey to becoming either a domestic goddess OR next Richard Branson of the sewing world!

At this point may I suggest you don’t hold your breath on either 😉

As an enduring agoraphobic my rare jaunts out into the real world are carefully crafted and dictated by lists so I don’t forget anything in my haste to get home. It really does help if one remembers to take said list with one! Hence, I have gaffed and faffed about for about 2 weeks now but finally got sewing machine to the shop for servicing and a dark red acrylic yarn I have been hankering for so that I could practice some crochet stitches. I consider myself a novice in this area albeit a keen one!

In my head it was set, fingerless mitts. New, bamboo crochet hooks at the ready …. Dear reader you know all too well how frequently I don’t have the right size needle or hook. Rectified, a whole selection are now in my possession. Lack of vital list led to a GAWJUS coloured yarn being purchased, only on return home did it dawn I needed DK or simply soft not chunky. Well hey ho! How much can that matter ….. Becoming a bit of a theme that there saying.

DD2 had been my companion on shopping trip and although 19 I clearly am still the bank of mum ….. Bright yellow yarn also purchased, one of her fav colours, but more of the yellow yarn road another time.

I found amongst the MANY free online crochet patterns, one for mitts that came real close to what I had in my head so I extend thanks to Julee A Reeves for the inspiration the pattern gave and although a novice I have had a punt at jigging it about for my short, shall we say robust (chunky) hands PLUS of course the faux pas with yarn. All in all I am pretty happy with the outcome. You will see from the pictures that one is slightly more ‘baggy’ at the fingers where I added in some newly learnt shells. I rectified (almost) on the second hand but this pattern goes together so fantastically quickly in a chunky I will make more but on a smaller hook. This time I used a 6mm but I will drop a whole size to a 5mm for the next ones as I now know what EVERYONE is getting for Christmas 🙂 and my friends all have more slender hands that I !

With my chunky yarn and size 6mm hook I cast a chain of 29, it seemed from original pattern an odd number was required. Then jumped straight in on the pattern with my own amendments as

Hope my pictures help make some sense of my first pattern attempt. Initial problems with the first mitt I tried to iron out with some slight amendments. Nearly there!

Base of V visible enough to easily count how many rows you have done

Slightly different as my work in progress … My right hand is the second to be made and a MUCH better fit

Not doing the colour justice but am thinking of trimming with a couple of pretty buttons

Row 2 to end
V into each ch1 space across (i identified this as being the top centre of each V stitch on previous row thus keeping all V’s in a neat line).

Please note, at the end of every even row I finish on a V, at the end of every odd row I end with a dc only.

For me I needed to work 14 rows and found it easy to count the rows as the base of each V is so visible.

Having looked at the web last night I now consider myself a shell stitch expert (sort of) so was keen to trim with shell.

ch1, sc into 2nd ch then create shell in a multiple of 6 dc into the space presenting at the top of a V stitch, skip 1ch, sc into next …….. Repeat to end.

My initial math did not work out so on the second mitt I worked by eye and it came out so much better, I finished up with 4 complete shells this time.

Finishing was super easy as I sew …. Yee ha! There is something I do with some competence 😉

Right side together, whip stitch with yarn and darning needle remembering to leave an opening for your thumb. This opening will vary depending on the size of your hands of course. Tie off, darn loose end into work and voila! Time to turn through to reveal the finished item!

Not a perfect pattern yet but as I am a real novice I feel sure any beginner could make a darn good go of it!

A quick Christmas shout out before the closet that must not be opened is opened by muggin’s here tomorrow for the sort out of the century.

Rachel you’ve been a doll, with all my craziness this year you have stood firmly by my side, thank you. Dellis…. Well who would have thought a cyber space friendship could be a real thing!!?? IT IS and I am so blessed to have ‘met’ you this year, thank you too for your kindness, guidance and support.

Merry Christmas to all and for your delight and delectation here is my christmas tree offering for 2013 ……. It near on resulted in the men with the special white jacket coming to collect me but victory was mine in the end ….. Only with the intervention of HH and DD2, nevertheless its up with strict instructions to all who enter. DO NOT TOUCH THE TREE!